The Ineka Project

Dr. Robert Forto

Canine Behaviorist

The Ineka Project

What is The Ineka Project
The Ineka Project is a collaborative consulting and academic research organization under the direction of Dr. Robert Forto, PhD. He holds advanced degrees in human-canine communication and a Master of Business Degree. The primary focus of The Ineka Project is consulting clients with aggressive dogs. Dr. Forto is  a canine behaviorist specializing in canine aggression and is often retained by counsel to assist in the determination of aggression in dog bite cases and landlord/tenant disputes.

What does "Ineka" mean?
Pronounced IN-eck-A means rescued friend in Inuit. It is the name of Dr. Forto's 11-year old Siberian Husky. In 2000, Robert was looking for  new dog for his sled dog team and he searched the Internet and found a posting of a male Siberian about  2 1/2 years old that was currently in a foster home in Washington state. After numerous calls and emails Robert arranged to have the dog flown to Denver so that he could adopt him. He arrived at the airport on a cold March morning and he was not what Robert and his wife Michele were expecting. He was a large 60 pound black and white male with striking blue eyes and missing one of his canine teeth.

They loaded him up in the truck and headed home to Bailey and talked about what they would do with him in training for the next racing season. Neither Robert or Michele held much promise for this new member of the team but they wanted to see what he was made of. They already had 30 Siberians so it would be hard for the new dog to make the team.

The next morning a storm rolled in a dumped several inches of fresh snow in Bailey so Robert decided to take the team for a run. He started putting the harnesses on the team and the new dog, who now had his name, and he went nuts! He was barking and jumping around like mad and Robert made a comment to Michele, "I think he has done this before!" He hooked up the team and placed Ineka, in the point position, right behind Zerlina, one of the lead dogs.

During the 5-mile run Ineka knew just what to do and even responded when Robert barked out commands from behind on sled. Ineka was a natural. A rare find and he showed promise to the up-and-coming team with hopes of running the Iditarod.

During the warm spring and summer months Ineka took on the job as the kennel Sergeant. His unbridled confidence was shown in is "strut" around the kennel and he would keep all the dogs in line when they started making a ruckus. When the new puppies were able to join the kennel Ineka took on the job a mentor for the little guys.

When the snows fell in late October Robert made up his team line ups for the racing season. He had learned over the summer training runs on the cart that Ineka could be placed just about anywhere from Leader to Wheel. That is rare for a dog to hold that many positions and do well. The racing season didn't go as expected and Robert did not qualify for the Iditarod as he had hoped but Ineka was right by Robert side through it all.

Ineka is now retired and and spends his days at Denver Dog Works with Robert. Ineka is the only dog left from the sled kennel. All others have been placed with friends and other teams. Ineka still struts his stuff around the Denver Dog Works kennel and has not lost his touch as the Sergeant. He still loves his job and can't wait to come to work every day.